Asymmetric responses of plant community structure and composition to precipitation variabilities in a semi-arid steppe

Ming, Zhong; Song, Jian; Zhou, Zhenxing; Ru, Jingyi; Zheng, Mengmei; Li, Ying; Hui, Dafeng; Wan, Shiqiang

doi:10.1007/s00442-019-04520-y

Cited by 26 publications

(14 citation statements)

References 58 publications

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“…Nevertheless, the underlying mechanisms for the principal findings of the current study are as follows: soil C cycles in arid ecosystems are more sensitive to increased precipitation while humid ecosystems more sensitive to decreased precipitation, may be inferred from common sense (Knapp & Smith, 2001; Liu, Wang, et al, 2016; Wu et al, 2011). Arid ecosystems are always in, and thus get used to, water shortage (Wu et al, 2011; Zhong et al, 2019); therefore, their soil C cycles are less sensitive to decreased precipitation but more sensitive to increased precipitation. For humid ecosystems, things are opposite: they are always well watered (with sufficient water supply) and not used to water shortage (Knapp & Smith, 2001), and thus their soil C cycles are more sensitive to decreased precipitation and less sensitive to increased precipitation (water maybe more than needed and increased precipitation maybe a simple waste in this case).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Differential effects of altered precipitation regimes on soil carbon cycles in arid versus humid terrestrial ecosystems

Wang

Chen

et al. 2021

Global Change Biology

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Changes in precipitation regimes have significant effects on soil carbon (C) cycles; however, these effects may vary in arid versus humid areas. Additionally, the corresponding details of soil C cycles in response to altered precipitation regimes have not been well documented. Here, a meta-analysis was performed using 845 pairwise observations (control vs. increased or decreased precipitation) from 214 published articles to quantify the responses of the input process of exogenous C, the contents of various forms of C in soil, and the soil-atmosphere C fluxes relative to increased or decreased precipitation. The results showed that the effects of altered precipitation regimes did not differ between rainfall and snowfall. Increased precipitation significantly enhanced the soil C inputs, pools and outputs by 18.17%, 18.50%, and 21.04%, respectively, while decreased precipitation led to a significant decline in these soil C parameters by 10.18%, 9.96%, and 17.98%, respectively. The effects of increased precipitation on soil C cycles were more significant in arid areas (where mean annual precipitation, MAP <500 mm), but the effects of decreased precipitation were more significant in humid areas (where MAP ≥500 mm), indicating that the original MAP partially determined the responses of the soil C cycles to altered precipitation regimes. This study implies that for the same of precipitation variation, soil C cycles respond at different magnitudes: not only should the direction (decrease vs. increase) be counted but also the region (arid vs. humid) should be considered. These results deepened our understanding on regional differentiation in soil C cycles under climate change scenarios.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Differential effects of altered precipitation regimes on soil carbon cycles in arid versus humid terrestrial ecosystems

Wang

Chen

et al. 2021

Global Change Biology

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“…Therefore, drought treatment further causes more soil water to evaporate, so to adapt to drought conditions, plants will reduce stomatal conductance to prevent water transpiration, thus reducing the photosynthetic rate, and ultimately reducing the carbon absorption of plants (Chaves & Oliveira, 2004). The soil type of the study site is Haplic Calcisols with low water‐holding capacity, which might reduce available soil moisture via runoff or percolation during large rain events (Zhong et al, 2019).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Extreme drought alters plant community structure by changing dominant species growth in desert grassland

Wang

Zhang

et al. 2023

J Vegetation Science

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Questions Interannual precipitation changes, both in amount and frequency, are expected to increase due to climate change, and these changes could dramatically affect the structure and function of ecosystems. However, how plant life‐forms and dominant species regulate the plant community structure after precipitation changes remains unclear. Location Gaolan Experiment Station for Ecology and Agriculture Research of the Northwest Eco‐Environment and Resources Research Institute of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, located in the desert grassland of the western Loess Plateau, China. Methods To investigate the effect of precipitation changes on the growth of communities, life‐forms, and species, we used rain shelters and irrigation to create a variety of precipitation gradients (i.e., −40%, −20%, 0% [= CK, i.e., control treatment], +20%, +40% of ambient precipitation) in desert grasslands from 2014 to 2015. Results The plant community density, coverage, and height were significantly decreased in the −40% treatment compared to CK. In contrast, species richness, Shannon–Wiener index, and Pielous' evenness did not respond significantly to the precipitation treatment. In addition, at the level of life‐forms, the density of perennial herbaceous plants was significantly increased by the +40% treatment in 2015, while the richness and density of annual herb were significantly inhibited by extreme drought. The effect on the shrub growth index of increasing and decreasing precipitation compared to the CK was insignificant. Furthermore, at the level of species, the growth of dominant species was obviously suppressed by the −40% and +40% treatment in 2015. However, the positive effect of the +40% treatment on the growth of rare species reached significant levels in 2015. Also, the change in precipitation did not have a significant effect on the growth of companion species. Dominant species primarily drove the response of community‐level plant growth to precipitation changes over the three‐year study period. Conclusion The response of plant community composition to changes in precipitation in desert grassland is largely regulated by changes in the composition of the dominant species. This finding could also provide a better prediction of the effects of extreme drought on desert grassland plant communities in the scenarios of future global climate change.

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“…However, how changing precipitation, specifically extreme precipitation, effects changes in plant diversity and community is not yet understood. Extreme drought decreases the plant community cover, and they have a higher resistance to drought stress (Zhong et al, 2019). The development of industry and agriculture, as well as the widespread use of natural resources lead to the destruction of the ecological balance and the risk of a decrease in the number of plant species.…”

Section: Implications For Conservationmentioning

confidence: 99%

Assessment of the Current Condition of Populations of the Red List Species Salvia submutica Botsch. & VVED. (Lamiaceae Lindl.) In Nuratau Mountain Ridge, Uzbekistan

Akhmedov

Nomozova

Umurzakova

et al. 2022

Ekológia (Bratislava)

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The high-mountain ecosystems of Central Asia consist of very rich biodiversity with unique plant communities and many endemic species. High human pressure and long drought periods due to global warming have caused habitat destruction in these areas and a parallel increase in the number of endangered species. In Uzbekistan, the number of red listed plant species has risen in the last 30 years, from 163 in 1984 to 324 in 2009. Among those red-listed species are 23 species in the Lamiaceae family. The aim of this study was to estimate the current populations of red-listed species Salvia submutica. This species is endemic to the Nuratau ridge, and it is growing under climatic changes and human pressure. We found two populations of this species in the Nuratau ridge. For each population, we measured the plant density and determined the population spectrum. We also describe the plant community where each population grew. At all sites, the population density was low, with most populations being classified as mature with centered ontogenetic structure. These results indicated this species might, in the near future, become extinct in the wild.

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Asymmetric responses of plant community structure and composition to precipitation variabilities in a semi-arid steppe

Cited by 26 publications

References 58 publications

Differential effects of altered precipitation regimes on soil carbon cycles in arid versus humid terrestrial ecosystems

Differential effects of altered precipitation regimes on soil carbon cycles in arid versus humid terrestrial ecosystems

Extreme drought alters plant community structure by changing dominant species growth in desert grassland

Assessment of the Current Condition of Populations of the Red List Species Salvia submutica Botsch. & VVED. (Lamiaceae Lindl.) In Nuratau Mountain Ridge, Uzbekistan

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